Make Love, Not War
by Bride of Spock
Summary: Ji Firepaw loves Aysa Cloudsinger, he always has. Can he convince her that in these dark times, love is the answer? A little AU. On hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: My first WoW fanfiction, so be nice! From Ji's POV. Daphnee is my Pandaren character, realm Malygos if you really want to know. Rasputin is her turtle. Apologies if Ji and Aysa are OOC! **

**P.S. This is a 'what if' fic - what if your character wandered the woods before boarding the balloon? What would happen next?**

"Or you could wander the woods for a bit," I tried. "Leave me and Aysa...alone..."

Daphnee just smirked at me. I inwardly groaned and hoped she'd go away.

"Of course," she said smoothly. "I'll rid the forest of those pesky Amberleaf Scamps with Rasputin. I need to cool down, think over some things." Her freaky turtle snapped loudly, baring a row of blunt teeth.

"We have work to do!" Aysa protested.

"Aysa," I said softly. "She was in the Wood of Staves. I think she needs some...downtime." Aysa's eyes widened and she looked down respectfully. "Of course, Daphnee. Take your time."

Aysa walked around the balloon and stared out to sea. "If you look carefully, you can just see him," she said quietly. I looked, very carefully, and glimpsed Shen-zin Su's massive head, weaving between the ribbons of ocean. I walked up behind her and put my hand upon her shoulder. "We will find out what ails him, Aysa, remember that." A sob escaped from between her compressed lips.

"What if we don't? We will have failed him, and failed our masters, respectively."

"Aysa," I sighed. "You could never fail any master." Aysa hated looking weak, I knew, so it broke my heart when she looked up at me from behind her wet eyelashes, her soft cheeks stained with tears.

Tears wept for her master, for Master Shang Xi, for Shen-zin Su, perhaps even for herself. "How do you mean that?" Aysa said, her eyes still brimming.

"You could never fail, Aysa. Not a master - you have skill, perseverance and precision, balance and poise - everything."

Aysa had stopped crying; she was listening.

"You are talented. You can be charming and dangerous, exquisite as the night sky in your training - gliding across thin ropes, meditating on water. Nothing will hinder your quest for the truth, Aysa. It's your best quality." I'd done it. I'd poured my heart out to her. About my admiration for her, at least.

"Thank you, Ji. That meant a lot, coming from you - was it sincere?"

"It was a confession from the bottom of my heart, Aysa."

"Ji?"

"Yes?"

"What is it that you feel for me?"

"Deep admiration. As cubs, well. You were always one step ahead of me. The strong bond of friendship. We were, and are, best friends."

"What else, Ji?"

"I - love you, Aysa." Here I was. I'd torn out my heart and offered it to her on my knees.

"Oh, Ji," Aysa said. She sighs, almost inaudibly.

"Don't," I said immediately.

"These are dark times, and we must fight alone to be at our strongest. I can have no distractions."

"Together we are stronger," I protested feebly.

I barely caught her reply; "I'm sorry, Ji."

Daphnee came bouncing out of the woods, beaming triumphantly. Her red hair flashed in the sun. "Had fun with murder, Daphnee?" I asked her.

"Yesserie! I got almost a whole silver!"

"Bloody hell, how many did you kill?"

"A lot," she answered smugly. "So, what are we doing? Getting in the hot air balloon?"

"Yes. We have to find out what's wrong with Shen-zin Su," Aysa said seriously.

"Ji?" I shook my head at her, knitting my eyebrows together. Daphnee nodded solemnly, her expression sympathetic. "Shall we go, then?" Aysa asked. I boarded first. Daphnee followed. Aysa took a last glance at the Wood of Staves before joining us.

**A/N: I know it's short, sorry. I was just wondering if I should continue it. A review would be much appreciated :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Taking this moment to shamelessly promote my best friend - BloodElfAssassin11 - and her awesome WoW fanfic ;D **

**P.S. This is from Daphnee's POV. Also, this is where the AU comes in, as I can't completely remember what happened.**

**P.P.S. Read the A/N at the bottom! This IS a repost but scroll down to understand why!**

We flew onwards, the balloon bobbing with the wind. Ji kept glancing at Aysa, very obviously. "You're not being very subtle," I hissed in his ear. He ignored me, and kept staring wistfully at Aysa. Finally she turned and said, "What, Ji?"

Ji blushed. It was a deep blush, too, so deep it coloured beneath his fur noticeably. "Nothing."

"You've been staring at me."

"Maybe." Ji was staring at the ground now. Anywhere but at Aysa, basically.

"What is it?"

"I just - why, Aysa? Why won't you love me?"

I gaped. I guessed Ji sharing his feelings with Aysa didn't go so well. Aysa averted both mine and Ji's gaze. "We have work to do! No distractions, we must work - "

_"Together_," put in Ji.

" - together, yes, but apart! We must stand alone in the face of evil! We must save Shen-zin Su, and we will do so without distractions!" Ji cast his eyes downwards, looking completely and utterly defeated.

"Oh," he murmured, barely audible. Before Aysa turned away, I caught a look in her eye. It was a look of guilt, regret and heartbreak.

* * *

"What ails you, Shen-zin Su?" Aysa called. "Let us help you!"

"It is pleasant to know that the grandchildren of Liu Lang will help me when I am in need."

"Of course, Shen-zin Su, we owe our lives to you," I shouted. Aysa gave me a rare smile.

"I have a thorn in my side, grandchildren, and I trust only you to remove it."

"How could a thorn hurt something as huge as Shen-zin Su?" Ji exclaimed, but Aysa shushed him.

"We will do our utmost to help you!" she yelled. "We will find the source of your pain!"

* * *

Aysa steered the balloon toward the deep south, as Shen-zin Su had told us the location. Ji struck up conversation with me, casting a dark look towards Aysa that took me aback. "What do you think is troubling him?" he asked.

"Maybe a mutant rabbit burrowed too deep," I suggested. Ji looked thoughtful.

"Perhaps," he said, entertaining the idea. "I'm not sure that would harm him, though. It'd have to be something much bigger and more destructive to harm a being as great as Shen-zin Su..."

Preceded by those ominous words, Aysa suddenly gasped. I looked up to see her peering over the side of the balloon, at what must have been the true source of Shen-zin Su's pain. "You guys," she whispered, voice low with shock as she took in the sight below, "it's a ship!"

**A/N: I owe the last bit of this chapter to the amazing Minty-Fivestar, who rewrote it for me! Many thanks :D**

**Yes, this is a repost. Sorry if you thought it was a new chapter.**


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